A Georgia man who claimed in court that he is a “divine being” — and who authorities say severely injured himself in an effort to be transferred to a medical facility — has been found guilty of killing a man during a carjacking, according to a report.
“I’m a divine being,” Brandon Keller, 32, told the courtroom.
“I am here by special presentation and appearance of the entity known as Robert Brandon Lewis Keller,” he said.
“I would like the ability to be trusted, to tell the truth, but this is not the setting I trust to do so,” Keller continued.
Keller later told jail staff that he had gouged out his own eyes and bitten off part of his tongue because he wanted to “cover his ass” and be moved to a medical prison, The Georgia Virtue reported.
The case stems from October 2024, when 43-year-old Bruce William Dupree pulled over along an interstate in Bulloch County, Georgia, apparently to help Keller, who had been hitchhiking, and offer him a ride.
Prosecutors said Keller, who was under the influence of drugs at the time, attacked Dupree, cut his throat, dragged him into the grassy median of I-16 and left him there to die.
Another driver called 911 after spotting Dupree bloodied and crying out for help near the roadway. Dupree was later pronounced dead from his injuries.
Police quickly tracked down Keller in Dupree’s stolen car and arrested him at the Patriot Inn, in Register, Georgia.
Keller was found guilty of all ten counts, including murder, aggravated assault, hijacking a motor vehicle and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission or an attempt to commit certain felonies.
Judge Matthew Hube said that Keller “represented the worst of us,” adding that “he took advantage of someone who was trying to help, and left a trail of wreckage in his wake.”
Keller was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and an additional 25 years.
“To be able to protect our community from a very dangerous individual, so we are very grateful for that,” Acting Bulloch County District Attorney Jillian Gibson told Judge Hube, thanking him for the conviction.
Mandy Moore, Keller’s niece, told the court “Bruce is gone and won’t come back, and nothing can fix that, nothing can fill that void.”
“The justice system prevailed; no other family will go through what we went through at the hands of this man.”
